Safety coupled drilling joint



Dec. 14,1926. f v A 1,610,414

- l E. 1 QERNARQET A1.

SAFETY coUPLED nRLLiNG JOINT Y Filed June 24, 192e ern ara?,

Patented Dec. 1,4, 192s;

EDWIN L. BERNARD AND HECTOR F. REYNAUD, OF NEW IBERIA, LOUISIANA. l

SAFETY COUPLED DRILLING JOINT.

Application filed June 24, 1926. Serial No. 118,326.

This invention relates to drilling joints and more particularly to a connecting joint for use 1n connecting'the drilling tools of well drilling apparatus. A

An important object of the invention is to'provide a device of this characterwhich may be employed to prevent excessive strains upon the drilling tool which would tend tobreak the same and which,when excessive strains are. applied to' the drilling tool, serves to .disconnect the drilling apparatus and to provide between the drilling apparaments.

- pin 12 w '-drawings,

tus and -tool a swivel joint, retaining the connection between the tool and drilling ap-. paratus for longitudinal movementsl but dis' connectingthe same during rotative move- A further and more specific object-of the invention is to provide a swivel: joint for connecting the sections of drill pipe, particularly that sectionto which the drillv is to be connected -to the pipe, the sections of the swivel joint being rigidied to one another by frangible elements, breaking or shearing under strain slightly jless than that vsulicient to cause breakage ofthe drill or drill joint.l

These and other objects we attain bythe drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is showna preferred embodiment of our invention and wherein z-f joint constructed in accordance with our invention; j

Figure 21s a fragmentary side elevation,

the upper section of the joint removed withv the pins 1n position therein;

Figure 1.`

Referring now more particularly to the drical body havingformed in' its lower end a threaded box 11 for the reception ofthe upper end upper end character. formed with spaced from fof-a drill 'joint of any suitable The upper end of the body 'is a bore 13 which, at a point the upper end of the box, communicates with a. 'reducedvbore 14 extending tothe upper end ofthe box. The connection between the bores 13 and 14 produces an upwardly facing 'shoulder 15 which is formed with sockets 16, tice purpose of which `will presently. appea The u per and of the bore 13 is enlarged, as at 1 to y Figure lis a vertical-section throughv a tool F gure 3 isa section oil-the line 3-3 of against to the numeral 10l indicates acylin-l ch may be either the pin upon the of the drilling tool or upon the provide a second upwardly facing shoulder 18 and between the spaced vertically from the shoulder 14, the llv ;val ofthe bore is threaded, vas at 19. The

0 y the coupling.` j

The second member of the coupling consists of a tubular body 20 of less diameter vthan the bore 13 and having at its lower end alian'ge 21 increasing its diameter, so that it is equal to the bore 13. The lower end of the body at the thickened or flanged portion thereof is `formed with sockets 22 corresponding in number and arrangement to p [lile sockets 16 formed in the shoulder `14. lation of the coupling sections for the reception of pins' 23 which normally preventv rotation of the sections. The combined shoulder 18 and a point ese sockets combine in the assembled re shearing kstrength of the pins 23 is slightly l less than the torque factor of the/tool or tool pin, so that these pins will shear before the tool will break, in event of the tool jamming in the well.

The pins 23 are pref-- verably bi-co'nic and the sockets 16 and 22 drical body of the section 20. The upper end of this nut hasa head 29,-the lower face of which seats upon the shoulder 18 when the nut is in applied position and jams therepins 23, and to prevent escape of the section 20 therefromfwhen the pins have beenv sheared. The bore 14y of the member 10 and the bore of the member 2O vide 'a water course for connecting the drill pipe with -the'water course 31 of the tool.

lock the nut in position within the -coupling section 10. The head isv preferably of suliicientdepth to project vabove the upper surface of the section 10 and in this 10o 20, which would disengage the -ok-I '1 5 serve to pro- It will be quite obvious that if, during'l drilling operations, the toolv becomes sud- 00 10, as described, forms one member of Y denly jammed, with the result that the` rotary drilling table (not herein shown) throws a sudden strain upon the drill pipe and tool, before either of these elements will break under the strain thus applied, the pins 23 will shear, permittin the drill pipe to rotate independently of t e tool. the sudden strain will cause a slowing down ofthe rotary table and the breakage of the pins will again permit the rotary tableto speed up and, in fact, to attain a greater speed than it would ordinarily have, operator will be immediately apprised of the fact that the breakage has occurred.. The tool may then be withdrawn by withdrawing the pipe, the swivel connections serving as a means for hoisting the tool -rom vthe hole.

Since the construction hereinbefore set forth is obviously capable of a certain range of change and modification without materially departing from the spirit of the invention, we do not limit ourselves specific structure except as hereinafter claimed.

vg5 We claim A In combination 'with a rotary drilling.

Since to such,

pi e and tool to be driven thereb a c011-` pling connecting the drill pipe Van tool including two rotatably engaged sections, one of said sections havin `a bore reduced to produce a shoulder adJacent its lower end and enlarged to provide a shoulderidjacentl its upper end, lthe other of the sections being .in corresponding sockets of the shoulder and the enlarged lower end of the second section and having a combined shearing strength less than the torque rotary drilling pipe or tool.

Intestimony whereof we hereunto aiix our signatures. l .v

. EDWIN L. BERNARD.

HECTOR F.

factor of either the 

